Grant Creston Schlicker

Published 9:24 am Monday, August 27, 2018

Grant Creston Schlicker, born Jan. 22, 1980. Grant had the most tender heart. This heart gave him the ability to draw in a community of friends and family who loved him dearly. In return, Grant loved passionately. He worked hard to both honor his strong feelings and to calm the unrest that comes with the gift and burden of a sensitive soul. Grant had so much energy and creativity and this led to his successful profession as the small business owner of 5 Elms Construction in Bend, Oregon. Many of us will continue to view his craftsmanship archived in homes from Portland to Central Oregon. His creativity also showed up in his talents to meticulously brew award winning beer and cider. We were in awe of his unique interests. In the early years, he made jewelry to sell, traded baseball cards like a card shark, and spent hours on his culinary visions. When he was eight years old, he asked for cooking appliances as Christmas gifts. We laugh at the memories of his time in the kitchen concocting the perfect Orange Julius, Thanksgiving pie, or even his own almond milk! He was faithful to his physical health and went to the gym regularly, collected the latest health food trends, and ate energy bars like they were a major food group.

Grant grew up in Portland and was especially close to his grandmothers, Sue and Bethene. In their homes the cousins (19!) built fiercely supportive and accepting relationships that took us from family camp, to Rockaway Beach, to the Wallowas, to now. In Portland, Grant experienced his most profound gift of becoming a father to Makiah and Creston. We remember our tradition of Soup on Sundays at our family home where we would all gather, talk, and appreciate each other as we watched our families grow. Grant loved travel and the outdoors. When Grant first moved to Bend he walked or biked to the top of Pilot Butte every morning. Bend gave Grant a new community and a fresh start. He developed friendships in a mountain biking meet-up, he rafted, learned to love hunting, camping and paddle boarding. Grant loved the big blue sky, the mountains, the beer, and the people in Bend. At times Grant’s life was full of joy, but when he hurt, he was shaken from his foundation of strength, determination, and hope. Many of us hurt with him and tried hard to help. Grant leaned hard on the support of those who saw him for who he was at his core. Life is full of regrets and Grant acknowledged he had many.

We smile when we remember his giggle, his appreciation for beauty in the small moments, and his little obsessions that turned into the huge talents that are too many to list. Our little family of five, his parents, David and Diane, and siblings, Megan and Colby, have no words to express the deep heartache we feel without Grant. We are so grateful for the love and support Grant received as he battled to find his path. Grant shared his memory of spending many summer nights laying on his back in the front yard of our family home staring up at the stars. We will continue to look up at the stars and acknowledge that while we feel deep pain in this loss, it pales in comparison to Grant’s. We will be looking up at the stars and be grateful for the time we had with Grant, and we will look up at the stars and believe that Grant is at peace while enjoying a game of Canasta with his grandparents, as they snack on mandm’s and talk his ear off.